For now, enjoy Joe Shetrom's South Carolina update, a staple of Monday mornings in these parts.

"The South Carolina Stingrays managed two wins against two losses this past week, dropping a pair of one-goal decisions in Estero, FL, before grabbing two big victories on home ice versus the ECHL’s top guns, the Florida Everblades. Through 47 games, the Stingrays own a 24-18-2-3 mark (53 points), placing the Palmetto State hockey club in second place in the South Division.

Facing a tall task, but riding the momentum of Saturday’s 5-4 come-from-behind win over Charlotte, the Rays marched into Estero Tuesday night for the first of two straight contests against the division-leading Everblades. Following a first period that saw each team deposit one goal, South Carolina ran off three unanswered markers in the second, with Michael Dubuc (even strength), Pierre-Luc O’Brien (power play) and Josh Godfrey (short-handed) collecting a trio of goals. The wheels, unfortunately, fell off the wagon in the third, as Florida responded with five consecutive goals, the last three courtesy of Brad Farynuk’s spearing major, to take a 6-4 lead. Scott Romfo got the Rays within one during the final minute of regulation, but his teammates were not able to come up with the equalizer in the waning moments, falling to the ‘Blades 6-5 in one of most stinging defeats in recent memory. Anton Khudobin, who replaced starter David Leggio after South Carolina’s fourth goal, earned the win with 18 saves in 23-plus minutes. Jeremy Duchesne dropped to 1-2 with SC, surrendering six goals for the second time in three appearances with the team.

Looking to bounce back the next evening, the Stingrays got off on the right foot, with Maxime Lacroix potting his 22nd of the year at 15:55 of the first period to take a 1-0 lead. Kevin Baker, the ECHL leader in goals and points, evened the contest during the last minute of play in the first, registering his league-leading 18th power play goal at 19:26. Florida reeled off three more strikes before Farynuk and Romfo countered with man advantage markers in the third, closing the gap to one goal. Just like the night before, however, South Carolina was unsuccessful at knotting the score, resulting in a 4-3 final. Jonathan Boutin, who arrived in the morning following a cross-country flight that originated in Victoria, BC, stopped 27 of 31 shots in his Stingrays debut, exiting during the third period due to leg cramps. Khudobin, the reigning ECHL Goaltender of the Year, improved to 17-6-1 with 30 saves.

With the second set of games shifting north to the Lowcountry, SC welcomed back Trent Campbell, who had been on recall to the Portland Pirates since Dec. 28. The second-year pro wasted little time making an impact, assisting on Pierre-Luc O’Brien’s 11th of the year just 88 seconds into the opening stanza. After Danick Bouchard knotted the contest with a power play marker at 11:32, Dubuc regained the lead for South Carolina at 18:38, stripping a Florida defender and beating Khudobin with a Jussi Jokinen-esque lamp-lighter. The unassisted tally, Dubuc’s team-best 24th, gave the Rays a 2-1 advantage heading into the first intermission. Florida countered with two goals in the second to take a 3-2 lead after forty minutes. Down, but certainly not out, Campbell and the Stingrays rallied in the third, with “Soupy” netting two goals in the first 3 ½ minutes to give South Carolina its second lead of the night, a lead Jared Bednar’s club would not let slip away. The 4-3 final, which snapped SC’s four-game losing streak to Florida, provided a major boost of confidence to a Stingrays roster that had won just two of its previous 13 contests. Boutin (11-5-2), making his first appearance at home, turned aside 33 shots while Khudobin, who finished with 34 saves, fell to 4-3 against the Rays this season.
Concluding their 2008-09 schedule with Florida on Saturday, South Carolina looked to capture their second straight victory since late December while earning a split in the 12-game season series. For the fourth consecutive contest the Rays drew first blood, with leading scorer Travis Morin, on the night his likeness was depicted in a bobblehead giveaway, redirecting a Josh Godfrey shot for his second short-handed goal of the year and 14th overall. But again, as in the three previous matchups, the Everblades answered on Patrick Bordealeau’s even strength tally at 15:40 of the first period. Dubuc retook the lead for SC, sinking a feed from Campbell with two minutes remaining to skate into the first intermission with a 2-1 advantage. Dubuc continued to have the hot hands in the second, collecting his second power-play goal of the game at 3:24, which prompted Florida coach Malcolm Cameron to yank starter David Leggio. Leggio, the reigning ECHL Goaltender of the Week, took exception to the hook and had to be restrained from attacking Cameron by his teammates. His replacement, Anton Khudobin, didn’t fare much better, allowing Dubuc’s third of the night a little over a minute later at 4:34. Keith Johnson got in on the act, registering the Rays’ only five-on-five marker of the contest at 7:48. But the night belonged to Dubuc, who put an exclamation point on the eventual win by potting his fourth power play goal, South Carolina’s fifth unanswered score, at 13:05 of the second. Exit Khudobin, who yielded three goals on four shots, and re-enter Leggio. The Everblades managed the final period’s only goal, Mathieu Roy’s power play strike at 7:42, but it wasn’t enough as the Stingrays cruised to a 6-2 thumping. Dubuc’s five-point outburst, which included his third hat trick and second four-goal eruption of the campaign, extended his point streak to five games (7g, 3a). Jonathan Boutin, in net for the third straight contest, stood tall, making 30 saves against a Florida team that suffered only their eleventh loss in regulation this season.

Among league leaders, Dubuc stands second in rookie goal scoring and fourth overall with 28 goals. Morin, meanwhile, ranks fourth with 54 points and is tied for the league lead with a +19 plus/minus rating. Brad Farynuk, the team captain who missed his first game of the season with a toe injury Saturday night, sits tied for sixth in defensemen scoring with 28 points. Veteran Nate Kiser, in his fifth season with South Carolina, places eighth with 138 penalty minutes, tops among ECHL blueliners. Not to be forgotten, Boutin’s 2.49 goals-against average ranks sixth.
The Stingrays host Charlotte on Tuesday and Sunday, and travel to Gwinnett on Saturday. The Checkers and Gladiators, who each have two games in-hand on SC, are separated by three points in the standings and will look to bridge the gap against the Rays. "